Forest Nightingales - The Forest Wants to Play

It Begins

*THIS IS CURRENTLY BEING RE-WRITTEN FOR PUBLISHING*

Walking down the streets at night are very eerie and quiet. No-body to be seen and the only life to be heard are of the woodland creatures living in the forest that I walk beside. I was dreading working late in my new job as I knew that the walk home would take a path that desired an essence of courage and bravery that is not abundant with me. I come to the end of the road... I stand for a moment, staring at the forest I must walk through to get home, before walking unwillingly on an uncertain path.

As I had feared - the lights that are to light the pavement are again poorly maintained and so again are not working. I walk the path the best I can with the guidance of light shining from the moon, but even the light from the moon has a hard time trying to get through the thickness of the canopy. The darkness has become to much and so when I come to the next lamp post I kick it, I suppose in hope that might get it to work, the light begins as a glow and slowly gets brighter. With the light shining I feel more at ease, however, it is short lived as the light does not stop getting brighter and brighter. The bulb in the lamp eventually bursts and the glass bowl around it falls from the frame heading directly for me, I jump out the way falling into the forest as the glass smashes onto the ground.

I stand from the ground wiping the foliage and dirt from my clothing when a gust of wind blows by sharply followed by the rush of foot steps. I look behind to where I had heard the noise, all is quiet and not even a leaf blows pass my vision. I can feel my fear making its way to the surface but I keep my calm making my way back to the pavement. My fears take hold and the darkness of the forest wraps around me as the path is no longer there. But where did it go? I did not fall that far from it... it should be here... 'It – should – be – here' I continuously say to myself as I walk franticly moving the the foliage beneath my feet searching for the pavement.

When I realize that the path can not be found I sit at the foot of a tree with my arms wrapped around my legs waiting, waiting to hear the movement of feet again. Chills run down my spine as the sound of a music box playing echoes throughout the forest, a soft and slow tune that leaves me paralysed. The sound of a child's voice speaks to me, “Do you want to play with me?”. I look to my surroundings searching for the owner of the voice. “I like to play games” It says to me... By this time I have started to walk trying to ignore the voice and the sound of the music box hoping they are figments of my imagination.

The voice continues to speak to me, “I do not want you to leave, I want you to play a game with me”. I am forced to stop as in the distance a silhouette of a person looms in the shine of the moonlight. What I see before me feeds my fear as the hands of the shadow are clawed and the howl of a wolf echoes. The silhouette quickly moves into the shadows and the voice speaks to me one last time, “Please play with my doggy as I think of a game we can play”. The first thought that comes into my head is to run and so I do, franticly, pushing against the trees and hitting the branches out of my way.